Waiting For You
by Muggle Jane
Summary: Bill always gets a little restless at the full moon. Oneshot, written for the HPFC Battle of the Houses and the Broaden Your Horizons (OTP Breakup!)


**A/N: None of the characters are mine, etc. etc. Written for the Broaden Your Horizons Romance Challenge (OTP Breakup) and the HPFC Battle of the Houses, Prompt #8**

The heavy crack of twigs underfoot heralded his arrival. He stopped so suddenly that he almost fell over when he caught sight of the small witch with the big gray eyes and long blond hair, wrapped up in a cloak and what looked like a heavy knitted blanket. She was waiting for him, sitting atop a fallen tree.

He bent over, bracing himself with his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. She watched him for a moment. "Hello, Bill Weasley," she said after a moment, her quiet voice almost seeming to echo among the trees. "Did you know that the full moon in January is called the Wolf Moon?"

He shook his head. "What... What are you doing here, Luna?" he asked as his breathing slowed, returning to its normal rate, each slightly labored breath escaping his mouth in a cloud of fog.

"Waiting for you, of course."

He straightened and walked over to where she was, stopping a few paces away and looking down into her face. He was flushed from the exertion of his late-night run. "It's freezing out here."

"It is January. That's why I have the blanket, you see. Your mum made it for me a couple of years ago."

"How did you know I would be out here?" He seemed reluctant to sit down next to her and she tilted her head back to look up at him, a small smile on her lips.

"It's the full moon, Bill," she replied, as though that answered the question. "Where else would you be?" Ever since she'd sheltered with him all those years ago, she knew that every full moon, he needed to be outside running. The attack that had scarred his face left him very restless every four weeks and he always ran the same path along the moonlit clifftops.

He stared at her for a moment. Her hair seemed almost to glow in the cool light from the round moon, far above them in the night sky. A sudden shiver overtook him. It _was_ freezing, and now that he wasn't moving, the sweat was rapidly cooling on his body. "I need to get warm."

"Of course you do," she replied reasonably. "Are you sufficiently determined or do you need me to take us?"

"Us?" he echoed. She didn't answer him, merely stared with her wide eyes until he shrugged. "I can take us."

She stood up and struggled the few steps that separated them, seeming weighed down by the purple and blue blanket that was wrapped around her. "I don't have my hands out, I'm going to lean against you." The shorter witch leaned forward until her temple was pressed against his chest.

He reached up a hand and splayed it across the small of her back and then with a soft _pop_ they were standing in the garden of Shell Cottage. He led the way inside and she stumbled along after him. It was cold enough that winter night that the frost was already thick on the ground, and her feet were slipping with every other step until finally she lost her footing completely and ended up on her backside on the cold ground, laughing.

The redheaded wizard looked back at her and then, noticing that she was no longer standing, rushed to her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Of course!" she replied brightly, still laughing. "Go inside and get warm, I'm alright." When he didn't move, she struggled until one small, mitten-covered hand emerged from the cocoon of warm layers. "Go inside," she urged, waving in the direction of the door. "I'll be along in a moment."

After another moment of hesitation, he turned and walked into the small house, leaving her alone in the chill night. With some effort, she wrestled herself out of the blanket and cloak and picked them up to follow him into the inviting warmth of the house.

It was warm in Shell Cottage, cozy even. She deposited the bundle, now slightly wet from rolling around in the frost, beside the door, and shucked her warm winter boots and mittens as well. She could hear the noise of the shower above her and she went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

When he came down the stairs a short time later, she was seated on the counter, swinging one of her legs and holding a mug of minty-smelling tea in both hands. She watched him walk towards her, his still-wet red hair hanging loosely down his back, and gestured to the teapot on the counter. "There's a lot more if you want some."

He stopped just beside her, pouring his own tea into the mug she'd already placed on the counter for him. "What are you doing here at this hour? Out here, I mean," he rushed on to avoid the inevitable obvious answer. "You're very far from home."

"You're lonely," she replied easily, stilling her swinging foot. "And I care for you." She knew he'd been lonely since Fleur had left a little over two years ago.

He lifted the cup to his nose and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to savor the smell. "Everything- all of my senses- are sharper during the full moon."

She nodded. "I know."

"You smell like blackberries and lilacs." He opened his blue eyes and looked at her over the rim of his mug, the lower half of his scarred face hidden behind it. "Your eyes are like the reflection of the moon on the ocean." He put the mug down on the counter and plucked hers from its grasp, placing it just alongside his, before stepping in between her knees. "I can almost hear your heart beating," he whispered to her, bracing a hand on counter on either side of her hips. He leaned forward, his nose coming to nuzzle in the dip behind her collarbone. "You should leave," he breathed, his against her skin, the movement of his lips almost like a series of soft kisses and his day's worth of stubble rasping against her.

She reached her hands up behind his neck and clasped them together, her fingers twining in his hair. "I'm not going to," she replied just as quietly.

He grazed his teeth along her collarbone and nipped lightly at her throat. "Now I can feel your heart beating," he said, his lips over the pulse just under her jaw. "Last chance to leave, Luna."

"I won't."

His mouth crashed against hers hard enough to bruise, tongue seeking, his long fingers moving over her back and under the bottom edge of her shirt. His mouth seemed to be everywhere and his hands skillfully removed first her clothing, then his, and then they came together with her still balanced on the counter, his stubble catching in her long hair.

* * *

Luna awoke late in the morning in his bed, the pale winter sun beaming through the windows. They'd made it there after a lengthy pause on the landing of the stairs and she felt like she hadn't quite had enough sleep. She looked over the see Bill's blue eyes already open and watching her as he held her gently. "Morning," he said, smiling.

"Is it still morning?" she asked.

"Just barely." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "Did you sleep alright?"

She nodded, a happy smile coming across her own face. "You're very warm to sleep with, did you know that?"

"The full moon makes me a little warmer."

"That might get a little uncomfortable during the summer," she observed, her gray eyes wide and serious. "We'll both have to sleep naked, I expect."

He chuckled. "During the summer?" he queried.

"Of course. That's the season that follows spring, you see, and it's usually the warmest season."

"You're going to be here in the summer?"

"Of course," she said again. "Unless you're planning on being somewhere else. I don't imagine it would be much good sleeping here if you weren't here. My bed is much more comfortable than yours is."

He chuckled again, leaning forward to brush his lips against hers. "You should bring yours here then," he teased.

"I think I will."


End file.
